<p>I've seen a lot of talk about the increased workload from Community College to a UC for science type majors. </p>
<p>Just wondering if there are any English, Comparative Literature, Humanities or related majors that would like to share their experience in the workload difference after transferring from community college to a UC.</p>
<p>I'm most likely going to UCLA, so if anyone has any experience and info they might be willing to share, please do. But someone with experience from any UC is also greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>One of my professors related a horror story of his while he was an undergrad at Berkeley. He had to read Joyce’s Ulysses in two weeks.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in knowing the differences in workload. I hope a current English/Literature major isn’t too busy reading to answer. ;)</p>
<p>I really hope someone can answer this too! My friend at Berkeley says basically you have several papers due every semester (like in any other Lit. class) but since she’s been at Berkeley as a freshman that doesn’t really help me realize the difference in workload, lol.</p>
<p>I transferred in fall 2010 to Ucla from (English major) and I’ve actually noticed a decrease in the number of large scale assignments in comparison to cc. On the other hand, the amount of reading has definitely increased. For example, I’ve taken a class in which we’ve been given one week to read native son and one to read invisible man in very close succession. While there have not been as many assignments in the class, we are expected to know all of the reading quite well and many final exams are passage identifications along with explications of the passages.</p>
<p>Bruinguy2012</p>
<p>Hey thanks for replying. That actually doesn’t sound too bad. I already do a lot of reading and have had to read a couple of novels within a week or so back to back as well.</p>
<p>I feel like a lot of the people giving these horror stories about ungodly amounts of work are mainly science majors. They’re scaring the crap out of me. </p>
<p>I kinda like the idea of being challenged to read a lot. I actually like that kind of homework. I mean, that’s why i picked literature as my major! Grab a coffee and sit and read for hours.</p>
<p>Yeah that’s the majority of the work, lots of professors give smaller thought assignments to go along with reading but those are often 3 or 4 pages at the most. The professors more often than not want to engage the class in discussion(for the classes that are smaller in size or have a discussion component) and it becomes very obvious who has read and who hasn’t.</p>
<p>anyone know about the workload for engineering majors at ucla?
im little slow in understanding stuffs, but i usually scored 95-100% in all my major classes. however, that was possible in cc and under semester. i dont know how im gonna survive at ucla’s high expectation + quarter system + aerospace engineering.</p>
<p>Um, the amount of reading, although a lot more, is manageable. Sometimes it can get a bit tendious and yeah… I don’t want to scare anyone off but Old English is not fun to read at all; It’s like an entire different language.</p>
<p>It definitely is manageable, it often just takes laying out a good plan of attack for all of your classes. And yeah, old English isn’t exactly fun but if you get the right professor for Chaucer it makes middle english and the class so much better and way more fun to get through.</p>
<p>Reading loads at UCLA in literature departments very by professor. Some professors assign a novel a week(sometimes these novels are less than 150 pages, sometimes they’re more than 300 pages), which means that if you are taking the minimum 12 units, this can add up to having to read 3 novels a week. This may, or may not, sound like a lot, but prior to signing up for classes you can always check to see the textbooks required for most classes, which will give you an indication of the reading load for the course. Take for example this course [Schedule</a> of Classes: Class Listing](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/detselect.aspx?termsel=11S&subareasel=ENGL&idxcrs=0173C+++]Schedule”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/detselect.aspx?termsel=11S&subareasel=ENGL&idxcrs=0173C+++) Click the textbook link, and you’ll see that 6 works will be used. This implies that the course will probably cover a work of literature in 1-1.5 weeks
As a literature major, I will say that you do get used to it. It sometimes may seem like a chore to have to read 3+ novels a week, especially if you want a social life, but from my experience, the subject material(either the works, or class) often makes up for it. Pre-reading your texts before the quarter starts, even if it’s just one work, helps free up your time for later in the quarter when you may want to take it easy. I know this often saved my sanity around midterms, when a lot papers are due and when exams are coming up. There usually isn’t one set week where you have all your midterms. Sometimes you have them during weeks 4, 5, and 6, which if you’re a literature major, it can often get difficult trying to study for an exam, writing a paper, while reading 2 works of literature, all at the same time.</p>
<p>@liek0806</p>
<p>Thank you for that info; it makes things very clear. Three novels a week while working on papers seems pretty demanding. I’m sure one gets used to it, but at least I have an idea for what to expect the first semester.</p>
<p>My cousin (Art major of some type) goes to UCSD and she was telling me that a typical class has a lecture and lab component. Lectures are just that, but labs are more like community college classes that encourage participation. Is this the typical formal literature courses have at UCLA?</p>
<p>Thanks,
Jon</p>
<p>@Bruinguy2012</p>
<p>I’m transferring to UCLA as an English major this fall, and I was just wondering if it is more difficult to get a B or an A over there? I mean, are the classes curved at all? I’m getting scared of going to UCLA since hearing from some people of how competitive it gets over there…</p>
<p>You will be reading more than you have ever been assigned in your life. My first week at Cal, my class was on a Thursday. The professor wanted us to have read Two Years Before the Mast by the following Tuesday. My other assigned reading from that Thursday to the next tuesday? Sartre’s ‘What is Literature,’ ‘Darktown Strutters’ for AC English, and some Linguistics essay I can’t remember the name of. The biggest difference is that you will rarely get excerpts any more and are expected to read primary texts in their entirety.</p>
<p>Whoa that sounds intense. And that is for only one class? Does that mean we might get assigned a similar amount of reading for 3 or 4 classes since we are Comparative Literature/English majors?</p>
<p>That was for 4 classes. It wasn’t bad because two of them were essays, but there are times when the stars align and all your classes want you to read a novel over the weekend. You learn to triage and read what you can and be able to talk about portions of everything. Anything I was writing on I read in its entirety, but if I only had to discuss it I would read enough to be able to talk about it.</p>
<p>The one comparative lit course I took the reading was comprable to my English classes. More reading than some, less than others.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input eits25.</p>
<p>What is your comment on what the classes/labs are like? Class lectures I’d imagine are primarily just lectures from the professors, but what about labs? Smalled groups? More interactive and participatory?</p>
<p>Thanks,
Jon</p>
<p>@QVO
Of the literature classes I have taken, none required labs, or what is known as “discussion sections”. The only ones that do are lower division coursework, which if you are a transfer, you should not have to deal with. If you are a literature major, there are a lot of course offerings to choose from at UCLA. This means that if you don’t want a class with a discussion section then you simply don’t enroll in them. </p>
<p>BTW, I think labs are more major specific with those majors being the ones that require you to work with your hands(Film, Art, Engineering, Architecture, sciences?)</p>
<p>In regards to lecture, like with the reading load, it depend on the professor and the class. There are so many course offerings and so many professors who teach courses differently, that you really won’t know what you’re getting yourself into until the day of. All classes are generally “lectures” with the exceptions of seminars. Most professors, of the literature courses I have taken, didn’t just stand there and lecture non stop. Most literature professors want student participation. They often weight participation as part of your grade. I’ve been in literature lecture courses with over 75 students, and it was one of the best classes I’ve taken.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, everyone.
I am transferring to Cal as an English major in the fall and am quite curious about the courseload/grading structure compared with community college as well.</p>
<p>I’m used to a lot of reading and time management with other classes, but are papers graded similarly? I normally get 95-100% on all of my in and out of class essays/explications, even from professors that RARELY give out A’s. I don’t think I have ever gotten a B on a paper in CC and I have taken a total of 11 different English courses covering the normal stuff from the survey of English lit, American lit, and Shakespeare with highly alternative professors as well as those who just want your essay to be a regurgitation of their own lecture. </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me how much harder those classes are at Berkeley and what differs?</p>
<p>It’s hard to get A’s, but not impossible. There are some professors that won’t give out above an A- unless you go to the moon and back (which means no 4.0 anymore).</p>